A new network educational program at the Artek school is helping youngsters to learn more about the ways energy-saving technology can be used to secure the future of our planet and also receive considerable benefits for the family budget. Experts from the Foundation for Promoting Housing and Utility Reform together with Artek school teachers developed a new network educational module (a new form of educational programs), A Man In The Era Of Globalization. The presentation class was attended by young people from Artek's Khrustalny Camp.

The network educational module methodology is developing: teachers from the Artek school are integrating subject knowledge with practical skills and utilizing the resources of the children center's thematic partners. At the new class, held in the format of a network educational module, Artek children gained knowledge and practical skills in physics, social sciences, forming a household budget, and the economical use of electricity as well as water. Artek school teachers and experts from the Foundation for Promoting Housing and Utility Reform explained to the children global issues of natural resource use from the point of view of a common person, a consumer of both water and energy. They had to think about the ways today's generation can take care of the future through the reasonable use of natural resources.

The class attendants came up with a solution through doing an experiment: they generated electric currents with the use of physical power and then described the result of their research in an essay, offering ways to save electricity. During a computer game on housing and utilities, the main character, a little domovoi (protective house spirit), taught them economical ways and rational housekeeping.

The children were highly interested in this class as it concerned everyday things. They learnt many simple yet important facts. For instance, they were told by the foundation experts that mobile phone chargers use electricity when plugged in even without a phone and that several dozens of liters of running water can be wasted if you turn aside only for a minute while washing dishes.

“I realized that saving is a major part of our lives. It affects not only the family budget but the planet's environment as well,” Denis Ryabukha from Karachayevo-Circassia explained. “We must use water and electricity sensibly. When I return home from Artek it will be interesting to talk with friends and our school director about the proper distribution of electric lights in classrooms.”

Olga Grishina, head of the press service at the Foundation for Promoting Housing and Utility Reform, said the initial experience of the foundation's involvement in Artek's network educational module has proved successful. “During the class, children were fully engaged in the process. We believe that the project should be put into practice, and we will draw up recommendations on including it in the academic program in all constituent entities of our country,” she said.